HAMILTON (WILLIAM)


Collection of Engravings from Ancient Vases, Mostly of Pure Greek Workmanship Discovered in Sepulchres in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but Chiefly in the Neighbourhood of Naples during the Course of the Years MDCCLXXXIX and MDCCLXXXX... with Remarks on Each Vase by the Collector, 2 vol. (of 4) bound in 3, 2 engraved titles (English and French), frontispiece and 122 plates (of 253), occasional soiling and slight fraying at edges, untrimmed in modern limp boards with 4 of the original covers laid down [Blackmer 778], folio (515 x 385mm.), Naples, M.W. Tischbein, 1791-[1795], sold as a collection of plates
|Fine plates illustrating William Hamilton's second collection of vases, his first having been sold to the British Museum in 1772. Published with the aid of Wilhelm Tischbein, director of the Royal Academy of Paintings at Naples, the plates exerted considerable influence on public taste, and on artists such as John Flaxman and Henry Fuseli. The present set is bound in 3 volumes: the first contains the engraved titles, frontispiece and text to volume 1; the second volume contains the plates to volume 1 (numbered 2-3 and 1-60) and the third volume contains 60 unnumbered plates (of 65, probably from volume 2).